The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) promoted bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur to No. 3 in their batting lineup in their IPL 2023 clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) at Eden Gardens on Saturday, April 29.
The experiment backfired, as Thakur's stay at the crease was a brief one. The right-handed batter was dismissed without troubling the scorers, registering a four-ball duck.
Thakur perished in the fifth over of KKR's innings. He attempted to play a lofted shot down the ground off Mohammed Shami's bowling. However, he failed to get the desired connection. Mohit Sharma completed a fantastic diving catch at mid-on to send Thakur packing.
Many fans took to social media after the dismissal, trolling the KKR team management to send Thakur at No.3.
Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter:
Notably, Thakur shone with the bat for Kolkata during their second match of the season. With his 68-run knock off just 29 balls, he was instrumental in his team's 81-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Rahmanullah Gurbaz proves his worth with a fine half-century in KKR vs GT encounter
Rahmanullah Gurbaz played some quick-fire knocks for Kolkata in the first half of the tournament. However, he later lost his place in the side with Jason Roy coming in as their overseas opener.
With Roy ruled out of the contest against Gujarat due to a back spasm, Gurbaz made the most of his chance and delivered an impressive performance with the bat.
While KKR lost the likes of Narayan Jagadeesan and Shardul Thakur early on, the Afghan batter seemed unfazed and continued to play attacking shots. He completed his half-century in just 27 balls, giving his team an ideal platform to build on.
At the time of writing, Gurbaz is still at the crease. Nitish Rana and Co. will want to come up with an imposing score upfront after being asked to bat first.
The second half of IPL 2023 is of utmost importance for Kolkata, given that they are currently languishing in seventh place in the points table, having managed just three wins from eight games.
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